Ulysses 360 Degrees

Range: Bhimashankar

Height: 3296

Grade: Moderate

Base Village: Khandas

History :
Bhimashankar is one of the 12 Jyotirlings of India, a pilgrimage place approximately 3250 feet high up in the hills. The area around Bhimashankar is covered with thick dense jungle. The Maharashtra Government has also declared it a Sanctuary.

Mythology:
Eons ago in the dense forests of Dakini, on the lofty ranges of the Sahaydris lived the evil Asura by the name Bhima with his mother Karkati. Compassion and kindness shivered in the presence of Bhima. The divine and the mortals were scared of him alike. But he was confronted by certain questions about his own existence which continuously tormented him.

When Bhima could no longer sustain his agony and curiosity, he asked his mother to unveil the mysteries of his life. He urged his mother to tell him who his father was and why had he abandoned them in the wilderness of the forest. After much hesitation and with a lingering fear Karkati, his mother revealed to him that he was the son of the mighty Kumbhakarna, the younger brother of the Lankadheeswara the mighty all powerful King Ravana of Lanka.

Lord Vishnu in his incarnation as Lord Rama annihilated Kumbhakarna. Karkati told Bhima, that her husband and his father was killed by Rama in the great war. This infuriated Bhima and he vowed to avenge Lord Vishnu. To achieve this he embarked on a severe penance to please Lord Brahma.

The compassionate creator was pleased by the dedicated devotee and granted him immense prowess. This was a terrible mistake, Bramha did. The evil tyrant caused havoc in the three worlds. He defeated King Indra and conquered the heavens. He also defeated a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva – Kamarupeshwar and put him in the dungeons.

He started torturing Rishies and Sadhus. All this angered the Gods. They all along with Lord Brahma beseeched Lord Shiva to come for their rescue. Lord Shiva consoled the Gods and agreed to rescue them from the tyrant. On the other hand Bhima insists and orders Kamarupeshwara to worship him instead of Lord Shiva.
When Kamarupeshwara denied doing that and refused to do pooja to him, tyrant Bhima raised his sword to strike the Shiva Linga, to which Kamarupeshwara was doing abhishekam and pooja. As soon as Bhima managed to raise his sword, Lord Shiva appeared before him in all his magnificence.

Then the terrible war began. But then the holy sage Narada appeared and requested Lord Shiva to put an end to this war. It was then that Lord Shiva reduced the evil demon to ashes and thus concluded the saga of tyranny. All the Gods and the holy sages present there requested Lord Shiva to make this place his abode. Lord Shiva thus manifested himself in the form of the Bhimashankara Jyotirlingam.
It is believed that the sweat that poured forth from Lord Shiva’s body after the battle formed the Bhimarathi River.

Sightseeing:
The Temple:
The temple of Bhimashankar is around 1200 – 1400 years old and is built on the Hemad Panthi style. There are very beautiful sculptures and paintings on the roof and pillars of the temple. In the outer corridor of the temple we can see a sculpture of the god seated on a throne accompanied by his pallbearers holding an umbrella over his head. At the front of the temple hangs a huge metal bell cast in 1729. There is also a 15-20 feet high “Deepmala” or lamppost in the outer corridor of the temple. There is also an inscription on stone on this lamppost. It is to be noted that the original name of the river Chandrabhaga at Pandharpur is Bhima. This Bhima River originates at Bhimashankar.

Gupt Bhimashankar:
There is a water stream route going down from the left of the Ram temple. Taking that route, we enter a thick jungle. We reach a temple around 25 minutes through this route. A route going toward the waterfall, left of this temple, leads to the “water sculpted” “Shiva Linga” under this waterfall. This is called the Gupt Bhimashankar. There is a huge waterfall at this place during the monsoons.

Nagphani Peak:
We reach a pond when we climb towards Bhimashankar from the Ghat. The route going towards the right, from this pond, takes us to the Hanuman temple. The route going up through this route leads to the Nagphani. We can have a view of the forts of Peth and Padhar and the plateaus of Peth and Matheran. We can remember the poem composed by the famous “Samarth” Ramdas, the lover of natural beauty, when we see such beauty around.

Ways To Reach:
To reach Bhimashankar, you have to reach Karjat from Mumbai. Those from Pune can reach Karjat either from Swargate or by train. The base village Khandas is around 34 km from Karjat. One can reach Khandas by either the S.T. Bus or the jeeps / rickshaws that ply in this route. The most frequented routes to Bhimashankar from Khandas are the Shidi Ghat and Ganesh Ghat.

Ganesh Ghat :
There is a bridge around 2 km from Khandas. The track going to the right from this bridge is the Ganesh Ghat route. This is the easiest route to Bhimashankar. Along this route one reaches a Ganesh temple within an hour of trekking. The route ahead consumes more time and takes 1-2 more hours to reach the top.

Shidi Ghat :
The route going to the left from the bridge goes to the village. The route to the left of the well in the village leads to the Shidi Ghat. This was one of the difficult routes to Bhimashankar, now is made broader and lot simpler. This route becomes very treacherous and slippery during the monsoon. There are three ladders in this route within the first two hours of climbing. To reach a settlement after half an hour of the third ladder. Further ahead when we climb on, we come across a thatch. At this junction, the routes from the Ganesh Ghat and Shidi Ghat merge. Those yearning for a cup of tea can get their wish fulfilled here. A further 1.5 hour trek takes us besides a pond. The road, which goes to the left from this pond, takes us to the temple.

Vehicular Route :
To reach Bhimashankar, there is a tar road up to the village on top. This road is through the Pune – Talegaon – Chakan route to reach Bhimashankar.

Accommodation :
There is a MTDC accommodation facility outside the Bhimashankar village. The villagers also accommodate tourists and trekkers, though it is a bit expensive. Accommodation is a bit of a problem during the monsoons.

Food :
There are hotels in Bhimashankar, which provide eating facilities to all.

Drinking Water :
Drinking water is no problem at this place. There is enough water all through the year.

Time to Reach :
Ganesh Ghat: Easy but long. 4-6 hours trek. Shidi Ghat: One can reach within 3-4 hours.